Ore-mill.



J. P. SMYTHE.

ORE MILL.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 20, 1909.

Patented Apr. 18, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

J. P. SMYTHE.

ORE MILL.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20, 1909.

Patented Apr. 18, 1911.

FTC.

JONATHAN P. SMYTHE, 0F LONGBEACH, CALIFORNIA.

ORE-MILL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 18, 1911.

Application filed September 20, 1909. Serial No. 518,695.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JONATHAN P. SLiY'rHn, a citizen of the Unit-edStates, "residing at Longbeach, in the county of Los' Angeles and Stateof California, haveinvented a new and useful Ore-Mill, of which thefollowing is a specification.

ThlS invention relates to a mill for crushing or granulating ore or rockto any desired degree of fineness and especially to the regrinding ofmiddling or tailing products of concentration or ore-dressingoperations.

The main object of the invention is to provide means for crushing theore, as far as possible, to a definite fineness or size Withoutproducing an undue amount of slimes, so called, or without subjectingthe ore to repeated and unnecessary crushing and grinding. In manymetallurgical operations it is desirable to have the ore of a definitesize or fineness and the presence of slimes (or ore of greater finenessthan is required) is a detriment because of the loss or escape of thevalues that takes place when too much slime is present. Moreover, afterthe ore has been brought to the required degree of fineness theexpenditure of as roll-crushing as the method mainly giving the mostdesirable form of granulated product. This usually necessitates theerection of expensive and troublesome elevators and revolving screens orother means of sizing the product, hence the preference of manymetallurgists and mill-men for some one of the varied types of so-calledself contained crushing or granulating devices-from gravity stamps tothe wellknown Chilian or Huntington Mills, with their more or lessuncertain method of delivery of granulated product and their certainproduction of toomuch slimes-as well as their great consumption ofwater.It is the intention in this invention to combine all of the goodfeatures of roller-granulation with minimum consumption of Water (whereit is desired tof crush the ore wet); minimum production of slimes (byelevating and screening the crushed mass after each passing of thematerial under the rolls) automatic and positive elevation and dischargeof the finished product from a point in the machine higher than wherereceived and that withoutthe use of either elevator-belts or a sand-pumpand at a point whence the granulated product can readily be conveyed'byordinary means to points upon the same floor-level for subsequenttreatment.

In the operation of such Works and more particularly in the crushing ofvery friable materials like, for instance, lead or copper sulfids, it isdesirable to eliminate as far as practicable, the production of material(commonly termec slimes) so finely comminuted as to be carried either insuspension in or borne upon the surface of the water used in thesubsequent operation of concentration or separation of the mineralparticles from the granulated mass of ore. In order to accomplish thisresult it is necessary to remove the broken particles justas soon asthey are fine enough to pass the desired mesh of screen; and thisinvention provides a 00111- binat-ion of rolls, deflector, elevator, andannular screen, in a single machine.

Other objects and advantages of the 111- vention will appearhereinafter.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention, and referringthereto Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 is-alongitudinal section thereof. Fig. 3 is a partial section showing adifferent form of the crushing faces. Fig. 4 is a'transverse section onthe line ac -w in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a perspective of one of the bucketsfor conveying the crushed ore to the screening means.

The machine comprises an outer crushing ring 1 and an inner rotarycrushing means 2,. these parts being rotatably mounted on a frame 3. Thecrushing ring 1 is peripherally su ported on pairs of wheels 4. carriedby sha t 5, and journaled in bearings 6 on the frame 3, one or both of.said pairs of wheels being provided with gear teeth 4 to engage gearrims. 7 or circular series of gear teeth on the periphery of the mug 1.Driving means, such as a pulley 8, is secured to one or both of theshafts 6, whereby the feed roll 31 iug two crushing rolls 2. secured'on.a shaft 10 journaled in bearing blocks 11 which are mounted so as' tobe vertically shdable in .ways 12 in standards 13 at the respectivesides of the machine, screw 14 working in the bottom? ofthe standard andengaging at its upper end with; the bearing block or pillow block 11serving to adjust the height of the roll shaft 10, said screw having acapadjustment thereof. The bearing of the head of the screw against thebearing block 1.1 is preferably rounded as shown at 18 to permit ofautomatic adjustmentor allnemcnt of the bearing to the shaft. A spring20 extends between bearing block 11 and a tollower plate 21 engaged by apressure screw 22 with a hand wheel 23 to produce an adjustable yieldingpressure on the top of the bearing block at each end of the shaft 10.

The machine being in duplicate, a partition wall or ring 24 extendsinwardly from the crushing ring, the crushing ring being preferably madein two parts 1' separated by said partition ring and the ring extendinginwardly to form a flange for separating the contents of the two sidesor ends of the crushing ring. The two parts are secured in a cylindricalshell 19, and the gear rims 7 are secured on the outside of said shell.

A hopper 26 extends within each portion of the crushing ring, and issupported 011a suitable frame or standard 27, the top of sald hopperbeing below the -'top of the crushing ring and'its'lower end orspout'extending adjacent to the inside of the crushing ring,

somewhat in front of they point of contactwith the crushing roll, thispoint of contact being at the bottom of the roll and of the inner faceof the crushing ring. Said hopper is open at the top and has an openingor feed spout 28 at one side into which the ore to be crushed issupplied by any suitable means, not shown. Above the deliverys pout :29of the hopper an interior spout or false bottom 30 is rovided, feedingthe ore to a which is rotated by anysuitable means, to cause the ore topass in graduated and regulated amount through the spout 29 to thecrushing surfaces. On the outside of the crushing rings buckets 35 areprovided for receiving the crushed ore and carrying it up anddischarging it upon or over the screening means. These buckets arefastened to an annular casing 32, of sheet steel, which is secured tothe shell 19 and to the rim 7, the buckets bein placed in close order ina circular series. liach bucket 35, see Fig. 5, comprises a pocketportion 36, outside wall 37, and inside wall 38 extending forwardly fromsaid pocket portion, the inside wall bovided with a valve 51 isconnected .Water onto the scraper facilitate the deflection ing cut-awayas at 30 to form an inlet mouth and the forward end of the bucket beingopened as at 40 to form a delivery spout or month. When the buckets arearranged in circular order, the side walls 37 are close together, andthe wider portion of wall 38 and the walls of pocket 36, together withthese outer walls 37 form a continuous series of receptacles for theore.

Directly within the delivery spouts 40 of the cireular series of bucketsis provided a conical apron 41 and a screen 42, preferably extending inthe same conical surface, taperstan head 16 and a capstan lock nut 14for n from the outside toward the mid length 0 the crushing ring, saidscreen being sup ported by annular members or angle irons 43, 44 andbeing preferably divided in a plurality of sections as shown in Fig. 4.A guard plate or deflector ring 45 extends from the upper supportingmember 43 for the screen and a delivery hopper or chute 46 is supportedon the framework of hopper 26 with its open upper end directly beneaththe opening between this ring 45 and the lower supporting ring 44 forthe screen, for the purpose of collecting the screened mater ail anddischarging the same at a given pom A deflector or scraper 48 isprovided adjacent to the inner face of the crushing ring 1, saiddeflector inclining forwardly and laterally with respect to the axis ofrotation of the ring in the manner of a plowshare to scrape the materialfrom the crushing ring laterally outward into the buckets atthat side. Awater supply pipe 50 pro to aspout or nozzle member 52 which jets orsprays or deflector 48 adja 'cent to the scra-plng edge thereof and toor discharge of crushed material from crushing ring to elevator pockets.The operation is as follows: The ore is supplied into the side inlet 28of the hopper 26 and is fed bythe feed roll 31 and spout 29 to theinside of the crushing ring 1 directly in front of the inner crushingrlngs or rolls 2, the crushing ring 1 is set in rotation by the drivingmeans 8, 6, 4 and 7 carrying the ore beneath the crushing rolls 2. Theheight of the crushing rolls is adjusted by means of the screws 14 inaccordance with the fineness of crushing desired, so that if anypiece'of ore passingbetween the roll and the ring is lar er than thedistance between these parts 1t will be subjected to a crushing strainand the pressure exerted by the springs 20 is adjusted by means of thescrews 22, so that in general the crushing strain will be suflicient tocrush the ore thus brought under the crushing rolls. In this operationthe crushing rolls turn freely with shaft 10 within the bearings of saidshaft, so that the action is one of rolling pressure rather than ofgrinding pressure. The crushed material passes from beneath the crushinroll in front to the deflector which scrapes it oif to one side whenceit falls into the lateral inlets or openings'of the series of buckets35. This action is assisted by the water from the nozzle 52, and in somecases this water jet alone will suffice to carry the material into thebuckets. of the crushing ring these buckets are carried upwardly andforwardly, the buckets being presented at an angle to the radialdirection as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, so that on this upwardly movingside or limb of the crushing ring the outlets of the buckets arepresented upwardly and there is no tendency for the buckets to dischargetheir contents. As the buckets approach the uppermost position in therotation of the rin they are tipped forwardly and eventual y areinclined downward so as to discharge their contents through the outlet40 at the forward ends thereof onto the annular or conical apron 41where the material passes onto the conical screen 42. This screen is ofproper mesh to permit passage of the material of the re uired standardof fineness and such mater al will pass therethrough and into thedischarge chute 46 from which it is delivered to any suitable deliverymeans. The material which is too coarse to pass through the screen 42falls off of the screen and is deflected by the screen into the upperinlet of the hopper 26 where it becomes mixed with the crushed materialsupplied to the ho per and passes again through the cycle 0 operationsabove described If it be desired to produce slimes or very finelycomminuted material it can be done upon this machine by using thecrushing ring shaped so as 'to slope from the centerflange toward theelevator pockets, as shown in Fig. 5, and having the roll-shells builtto conform to same, as shown therein. Then, by running the crushing-ringand the rolls in, practically, direct contact, and by reason of theslight difference in speed of rotation of the surfaces, there will be alarge percentage of slimes in the resultant product.

In crushing materials dry the operation is practically the same exceptfor the elimination of the use of water.

Another feature of this device is that we can almost entirely eliminatethe production of slimes by raising the roller slightly above the pointof contact with the crushing-ring by means of the capstan-screws on eachside of the machine, thus preventing any scouring effect in the rotationof the rolls.

A water supply pipe 54 may be provided for washing out the buckets atthepoint of discharge, and in case a supply of water is required during thegranulating operation,

it may be furnlshed by a pipe 55 discharging into the feed hopper 28.

In the rotation What I claim is 1 An ore mill comprising a rotatablecrushing ring, a crushing roll operating against the inner periphery ofthe crushing ring, an annular screen in the form of a frustrated conecarried by the said ring at one side of the ring with the smallerdiameter of the screen nearest the ring and communicating with the spacewithin the ring, whereby material which is discharged upon the top ofthe screen and does not pass therethrough, rolls down the screen towardthe ring and drops into the interior of the ring, aseries of bucketscarried by the said ring on the side thereof and arranged annularlyoutside of the said screen, said buckets being tangentially disposed andtheir spouts deflected at an angle laterally outward from the ring toguide material discharged from a bucket to a point near the outerdiameter of the screen, whereby the said material so discharged iscaused to travel the width of the screen before being discharged fromthe screen into the ring.

2. An ore mill comprising a rotatably mounted, crushing ring, a crushingroll mounted within the crushing ring, the outer face of the crushingroll and the inner face of the crushing ring as cooperating crushing'surfaces, means for supplying ore between the saidroll and ring, anannular rotating conical screen, said ring being provided with elevatingmeans at the edge of the crushing face of the crushing ring and inuninterrupted communication therewith for receiving the ore immediatelyafter it has passed between the roll and ring, said elevating meansmoving with the ring to lift the ore in the rotation of the ring and todischarge it at the upper part of the ring, on the top of the screen, adelivery means extending beneath said screen, and means for receivingthe ore passing over the screen and delivering the same to the feedmeans for the crushing ring and roll.

3. An ore mill comprising a crushing ring mounted to rotate on ahorizontal axis, means for rotation of said crushing ring, a

roll mounted to rotate on the horizontal axis, means for pressing saidroll downwardly toward said ring, means for limiting the downwardmovement of the roll, feed means for supplying ore between the ring androll, elevator means connected to the ring and moving therewith forreceiving the ore after it has passed between the roll and ring andlifting the same to the upper part of the ring, and a conical screenwith hori zontal axis mounted to rotate and receive the discharge fromsaid elevator means on the outer face of said conical screen, means fordelivering the screened material, means for receiving the materialpassing over the screen and delivering the same to the aforesaid fedmeans.

4. An ore mill comprising a crushing ring mounted to rotate on ahorizontal axis, means for rotation of said crushing ring, a rollmounted to rotate on the horizontal axis, means for pressing said rolldownwardly toward said ring, means for limiting the downward movement ofthe roll, feed means for supplying ore between the ring and roll,elevator means connected to the ring and moving therewith for receivingthe ore after it has passed between the roll and ring and lifting thesame to the upper part of the ring, a screen mounted to rotate andreceive the discharge from said elevator means on the top of saidscreen, means for delivering the screened material, means for receivingthe material passing over the screen and delivering the same to theaforesaid feed means, said screen being formed as an annular conicalmember connected to the crushing ring, and a conical apron continuouswith the screen to receive the discharge from the elevator means andrelive it to the screen.

An ore mill comprising a crushing ring mounted to rotate on a horizonalaxis, means for rotation of said crushing ring, a roll mounted .torotate on the horizontal axis, means for pressing said roll downwardlyupon the upper part of the rotating screen,

means "for delivering the screened material, means for receiving thematerial passing over the screen and delivering the same to theaforesaid feed means, said elevator means consisting of bucketsconnected to the side of the ring, said buckets having lateral inletsopening toward the ring and outlets at their inner ends and beinginclined in a radial direction to automatically discharge their contentsat the upper part of the ring.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los AngelesCalifornia, this 13th day of September 1909.

JONATHAN 1. SMYTH E. In presence of-- ARTHUR P. KNIGHT, FRANK L. A.GRAHAM.

